A bicycle is left near the station in the part of the town of Minamisoma, which is inside the 20-kilometer (12-mile) evacuation zone, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Thursday, April 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

The Mainichi Daily News - June 17, 201 1: Reaction has been mixed in Fukushima Prefecture to a new government recommendation that people in certain locations outside the Fukushima nuclear crisis exclusion zone evacuate if possible due to high levels of radiation, with some saying it came too late while others hail its flexibility.

The new policy unveiled on June 16 designates certain locations "hot spots," where the annual radiation doses could exceed 20 millisieverts, as areas for recommended evacuation. Since the new policy is nonbinding, those who want to continue to live in their current residences can do so, while others who wish to move out will be provided with government support on a household basis.

"I appreciate that the government will assist us to evacuate, but why now? Isn't it too late?" said a 29-year-old mother of 5-year-old and 3-year-old girls in Date, Fukushima Prefecture.

It is estimated that a number of hot spots could emerge in the Kamioguni district of Ryozenmachi in the city of Date, and those locations are subject to the evacuation recommendation under the government's new policy. There are currently 180 households in the Kamioguni district.

The woman had already decided to voluntarily evacuate to her parents' home in the city of Fukushima before the government announcement. Her parents-in-law, whom she is living with, are farmers, but she has never let her children eat their harvests. Since she is six months pregnant, she cannot take off her mask outside.

"The central and the municipal governments didn't say anything. I'd decided to evacuate myself, but I hope the government will also support those who want to voluntarily evacuate from areas not designated for recommended evacuation in moving out," she said.

The NNSA hazard map released by the U.S. federal government. The Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is marked by a white dot at right.

Kikuko Saito, a 64-year-old woman in the same district, has opted to stay put. "My husband and I will stay here while letting our son and grandchild evacuate," she said.

In one area of the district, many of the residents are elderly people, with half of them living by themselves. A 71-year-old woman who is living alone and growing vegetables said, "I have misgivings, but I'd prefer to stay here as the evacuation recommendation isn't binding."

Despite residents' mixed feelings, Date Mayor Shoji Nishida endorsed the government's policy at a press conference on June 16, saying, "Every household has its own circumstances. It's a realistic response."

Part of the Fukushima Prefecture city of Minamisoma has also been designated for recommended evacuation.

An 86-year-old man living in the Haramachi district of Minamisoma is reluctant to move out. He was once evacuated following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake but returned to his home after only one night as he felt uncomfortable at the shelter.

"I was born and bred here, so I'd rather not leave," he said.

His two daughters have evacuated to the city of Fukushima and to Tokyo. They've asked him to move in with one of them, but he is not convinced. "I don't have enough physical strength to live in a strange place. Besides, no one knows when I'll be able to come back here again," he said.

Alliant Techsystems, Inc., Plymouth, Minn., was awarded on June 15 a $45,735,354 firm-fixed-price contract. This award will provide for the renovation of M4 selectable lightweight attack munitions (SLAM) to the new M4A1 configuration and production of the M320A1 SLAM improved functional trainer kits. Work will be performed in Plymouth, Minn.; Eden Prairie, Minn.; and Mankato, Minn., with an estimated completion date of June 15, 2015. Bids were solicited through the Internet with three bids received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-11-D-0153).

The Protective Group, Inc., Miami Lakes, Fla., was awarded on June 15 a $38,409,232 firm-fixed-price contract. This award will provide for 515 UH-60 A/L/M Ballistic Protection System (BPS) kits; 265 HH-60 L/M BPS kits; 305 installation cockpit doors (Crew A); 305 installation cockpit doors (Crew B); and 135 UH-60 Medevac BPS kits. Work will be performed in Miami Lakes, Fla., with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2015. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-D-0155).

Thayles Raytheon Systems Co., LLC, Fullerton, Calif., was awarded on June 15 a $34,296,690 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This award will provide for fiscal 2010 Sentinel engineering services contract base year and four option year periods for a total of 290,200 man hours. Work will be performed Fullerton, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2014. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-10-C-0348.

NAVY

BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Inc., Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $33,286,477 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-09-C-0102) to exercise an option for engineering and technical services and supplies for the design, development, integration, test and evaluation, maintenance and logistics support of communication-electronic platform, equipment, systems and subsystems in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Special Communications Requirements Division. The estimated level of effort for this option is 374,000 man-hours. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Va. (41 percent); Spring Lake, N.C. (22 percent); California, Md. (11 percent); San Diego, Calif. (10 percent); St. Inigoes, Md. (7 percent); Afghanistan (2.3 percent); Iraq (2.2 percent); Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (2 percent); Hollywood, Md. (1 percent); Fort Bragg, N.C. (1 percent); and Panzer Kaserne, Germany (0.5 percent). Work is expected to be completed in June 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, St. Inigoes, Md., is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE

ITT Corp., Van Nuys, Calif., is being awarded an $11,908,704 firm-fixed-price contract to provide the purchase, testing, delivery, and installation of one Airport Surveillance Radar/Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (ASR/MSSR) system for the Royal Air Force of Oman with a Mode 4 capability for terminal surveillance of aircraft in support of air traffic control mission requirements at Masirah Air Base in Oman and enhancements of the ASR/MSSR system located at Thumrait Air Base in Oman. ESC/HBAK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8730-11-C-0004).

Defense News:Asia News Report: China Nuclear Safety Checks To Run Until October

AFP News – Jun 17, 2011: China has finished inspecting nuclear reactors operating around the country and will complete checks on more than two dozen still under construction by October, the environment ministry has said.

The nationwide assessment of the country's nuclear facilities was launched in April after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan triggered an atomic crisis -- and sparked a worldwide rethink on atomic power.

"The consequence of (the Japanese) incident is very serious and the lesson is very profound," Vice Minister Li Ganjie said in state-media report posted on the environmental protection ministry's website this week.

While Li did not announce the results of the inspection, he told reporters on June 3 that "safety conditions ... are good".

Li stressed China was moving as quickly as the United States and European countries in inspecting its facilities.

"China is also stepping up work on a nuclear safety plan. Until the plan is approved, the Chinese government will suspend approval of new nuclear plants," Li said.

Previously China said it aimed to complete the inspection by August.

The country, whose booming economy depends on burning coal for most of its electricity generation, currently has 13 reactors and 28 more are under construction, he said.

China still plans to have more than 100 reactors by 2020, Li said.

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility was rocked by explosions, fires and radiation leaks after the March 11 quake-tsunami cut its power and caused fuel rods to heat up in the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years.

The videos were recorded by Lyn White, a former police officer and campaign director of the animal welfare group Animals Australia. It is understood that the said abattoirs are located in Jakarta, Bogor, Bandar Lampung and Medan.

It's understood Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an investigation of slaughterhouses in the country, saying, "We have to highly respect animal welfare."

Defense News:Asia News Report: Are Singaporeans The Most ‘Disgusting’ People?

SingaporeScene – Fri, Jun 17, 2011: Are Singaporeans the most "disgusting and "irritating" bunch of people around?

An online poll conducted by a blog claimed that Singaporeans are the most "disgusting and irritating" people. …

Well, users of one blog in Chinese seem to think so.

The blog 'Lion City Life', which is supposedly frequented by foreign nationals from China based in Singapore, had conducted a poll seeking feedback from respondents on the most "disgusting and "irritating" people.

Believed to be a poll starter, a person with the moniker of "sayangweiwei" had asked in Chinese, "Having been in Singapore, all must have met people from other countries. Which country's people are the most disgusting and irritating?"

According to socio-political website Temasek Review, the results as reflected on Thursday showed that Singaporeans were voted as the most "disgusting and irritating" people with 48.15 percent of the votes, followed by Filipinos and Malays who garnered 7.41 percent and 5.94 percent of the votes, respectively.

When Yahoo! Singapore tried to visit the site on Friday, the blog had been taken down.

The blog which is said to have conducted the poll has been taken down. (Screengrab from Temasek Review)

"Taking delivery of our 275th Next-Generation 737 speaks to the success of the airplane and the value it brings to the market," said Norman C.T. Liu, president and CEO of GECAS. "Over the years, GECAS has successfully leased many 737s to airlines around the world."

To date, GECAS has ordered 349 Next-Generation 737 models.

The latest members of the Boeing 737 family -- the 737-600/-700/-800/-900ER models -- continue the 737's popularity and reliability in commercial jet transport. The Next-Generation family has won orders for more than 5,691 airplanes. Boeing has delivered more than 3,622 Next-Generation 737s through April 30, 2011.

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 17, 2011: Weeks after the death of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials are continuing to press Pakistan to do more against militancy, with few visible results as bilateral tensions continue to intensify.

Since the top-secret raid that killed the al Qaeda leader near Islamabad last month, Washington has sent a host of top officials, including CIA chief Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to call in Islamabad, ramping up pressure on an already strained alliance.

Analysts say Washington may be seeking to goad Pakistan into assaulting militant havens in North Waziristan or into going after bomb-making factories believed to be fueling violence in neighboring Afghanistan.

Officials in Pakistan, facing intense public pressure over the unilateral raid, have pushed back by throwing out U.S. military trainers and warning that scoldings from Washington may send it into China's open arms.

"Pakistan is making it clear that despite what United States does or says, it will do what it considers to be in its national security interests," said Lisa Curtis, a South Asia expert at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"We need to hunker down and prepare for a pretty rocky period; the United States will have to show some patience."

Tensions in an uneasy alliance revived after the September 11 attacks have been stoked further by what members of Pakistan's powerful military see as deliberate leaks to the media from the Obama administration, including stories suggesting the influential Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani is in danger of losing his job. Another recent story reported that Pakistanis who collaborated with the CIA at home were arrested.

"They are trying to capitalize as much as possible on ... the killing of Osama bin Laden," a senior Pakistani military official said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials denied such a campaign.

"We prefer to have direct conversations with the Pakistanis about the areas where we agree and disagree," said Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council. "We have no interest in having this conversation through the press."

Tempers may be flaring, but the United States needs the help of Pakistan's army to guarantee Afghanistan does not collapse when it withdraws. Pakistan meanwhile needs U.S. military aid and its support at multilateral organizations.

"It's not a friendly relationship, so normal diplomacy doesn't work. But you don't want to wage war because that would be counterproductive," said Kamran Bokhari, an analyst at global intelligence firm STRATOR.

DIPLOMATIC MINEFIELD

Another wedge in recent weeks has been the increase in strikes by remotely piloted U.S. drones against militants who do not target the Pakistani state but focus on U.S., NATO and Afghan forces across the border.

Since June 3, 66 people have been killed by drone strikes, mostly in areas controlled by Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir, prompting Nazir to vow more attacks in Afghanistan.

"Now they are targeting those who are to some extent friendly to us. This will not be helpful," said a senior security official in Peshawar.

Overt pressure does not seem to have worked well in Pakistan's long relationship with the United States.

That does not appear to have changed now as the civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari and the powerful military face an unprecedented public rebuke from Pakistanis embarrassed by the Navy SEAL raid on bin Laden's compound.

"Everyone is angry over U.S. action (on bin Laden)," said a senior Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.

"Americans themselves know it and that's why they are trying to increase pressure to get things done. But it will not work like this," the official said.

Pakistanis often complain that Washington overlooks the lives of Pakistani soldiers and civilians lost in the bloody campaign against militants in recent years.

"Within the army there is a lot of anguish regarding what is happening," said retired general Talat Masood.

But Husain Haqqani, the Pakistani ambassador in Washington, said the two countries were working through their issues and would emerge on the other side.

"The U.S.-Pakistan relationship faces challenges, but it remains robust," he said.

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider and Kamran Haider in Islamabad, Faisal Aziz in Karachi, and Caren Bohan in Washington and Mark Hosenball in London; editing by Warren Strobel and Cynthia Osterman)